Nine College Football Award Finalists Announced

Tim Tebow will do his best in his last two games to repeat as a Maxwell Award winner. He, along with Colt McCoy and Graham Harrell, were announced as the three finalists for the award, which is given to the nation's best offensive player.

Tebow, however, was not made a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award. Sam Bradford took his place as the third finalist along with other Big 12 phenoms Colt McCoy and Graham Harrell.

Tim Tebow has not performed as well as he did last year, but has turned it on in his recent games. Since his loss to Ole Miss, he's been on fire with over 20 total touchdowns.

The three finalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award include star linebackers Rey Maualuga of Southern California and James Laurinaitis of Ohio State, and defensive end Aaron Maybin from Penn State.

The most outstanding wide receiver award wasn't too much of a surprise. Obviously, Michael Crabtree is the front-runner out of Texas Tech, and he's followed by Dez Bryant from Oklahoma State and Jeremy Maclin out of Missouri.

For the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the top defensive back, Eric Berry from Tennessee was named a finalist, as he leads the nation in interceptions with seven.

Berry's competitors are Malcolm Jenkins from Ohio State and Taylor Mays out of Southern California.

The Doak Walker Award for best running back is anybody's guess. It could go to Knowshon Moreno from Georgia, Javon Ringer out of Michigan State, or even Shonn Greene from Iowa.

These finalists have been very exciting to watch this year, and I can't wait to watch them in their remaining games.